Emergency release for locked doors

ABSTRACT

An emergency release for locked doors incorporating a glass covered device for enabling the door to be opened. The glass closure is first broken affording access to a device, which is manually operated to release the door. The ordinary keylock, such as a padlock, which secures the door may remain in locked condition, and still the door is opened. In the event of an emergency, such as a fire, access to the interior of the house, stall, or the like can be quickly gained without the necessity of a key ordinarily required for the purpose.

United States Patent m13,s95,044

[72] Inventor Hjalmar L. Hicks 908,864 1/1909 Hopton 70/422 4031 Royer Road, Toledo, Ohio 43623 1,136,141 4/1915 Kelley .4 70/92 [21] Appl. No. 33,005 1,888,859 1/1932 Just 70/440 X [22] Filed Apr. 29, 1970 2,473 205 6/1949 .Iazwieck 292/341.17 l45l Patented July 27, 1971 2.851430 1 1/1958 O'Callaghan 70/422 X Primary Examiner-James A. Leppink s4 EMERGENCY RELEASE FOR LOCKED DOORS 4mm"! McCarthy 6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs. Attorney-Malcolm W. Fraser [52] US. CL 70/465,

2 /2 ABSTRACT: An emergency release for locked doors incor- [51] Int. Cl E051) 63/00, porating a glass covered device for enabling the door [0 be E050 19/08 opened. The glass closure is first broken affording access to a Field Of 70/1, 422, device, which is manually operated to release the 1.301- The 2 2 2 ordinary keylock, such as a padlock, which secures the door 307 may remain in locked condition, and still the door is opened. 56 1n the event of an emergency, such as. a fire, access to the inl Rem-wees C'ted terior of the house, stall, or the like can be quickly gained UNITED STATES PATENTS without the necessity of a key ordinarily required for the pur- 288,641 11/1883 Jones 70/440 P se- PATENTEU JUL2 7 l9?! sum 1 or 2 INVIYN 10R HJALMAR L. HiCKS ATTORNEY PATENTEU m2? |97l SHEET 2 BF 2 I'III'IIIII'I INVENTOR HJALMAR L, HICKS ATTORNEY EMERGENCY RELEASE FOR LOCKED DOORS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In many instances, quick access to the interior of a building is very important, such for example as in the event of tire. One outstanding instance of this is in horse stalls at race tracks, where the horses are usually kept in locked stalls to militate against tampering prior to the races. Fires have been known to kill many of these horses because those having keys were not at hand to unlock the stalls to free the horses.

It is a desideratum to provide a simple emergency release, which is associated with the key operated lock, but which is operated without a key to open the door when an emergency arises and when the key lock cannot at that moment be released.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Horse stalls are usually locked by padlocks and, of course, to open such doors without being able to unlock the padlock poses a real problem when an emergency arises. This invention provides an emergency release associated with the hasp and embodying a frangible panel, which, when broken, affords access to a simple and efficient release so that the hasp with its padlock and other parts can be rocked or shifted to afford immediate access to the interior of the stall, the door being then opened without difficulty. Thus, the horse stall is kept locked to militate against unauthorized access, but in any emergency the door can be opened. Such opening is made readily apparent because of the broken panel so that no one can enter the stall in this manner without it being known.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. I is a fragmentary perspective view of a door and frame for a horse stall showing the emergency release device associated with a screen cage door;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional fragmentary view substantially on the line 2-2 ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top perspective view of the parts of the emergency release after the glass panel has been broken to enable the opening ofthe door without unlocking the padlock;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational somewhat fragmentary view with parts removed showing an alternate form of emergency release in which after breaking the glass panel a slide is rocked and then shifted axially for releasing the door;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but with the glass panel removed and the handle rocked and shifted to door-release position;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary view on the line 6-6 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary side elevation of a still further embodiment in which a pintle rod is removed after breaking a glass cap for freeing the door; and

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the structure shown in FIG. 7 after the glass cap has been broken and showing the pintle rod partially removed.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The illustrated embodiment shown in FIGS. I to 3 comprises a horse stall generally indicated at 10, having an outer wall construction in which there is a doorway, the lower portion of which is closed by a hinged door 11 which is locked or secured in closed position by any suitable means (not shown). The upper portion of the doorway in this instance is covered by a screen cage door I2 which bows outwardly to accom modate at least a portion of the horse's head to afford increased light and air. The screen cage door 12 is attached to the doorframe by a plurality of hinges 13, only one of which is indicated. This enables the cage door to be swung out of the way to afford ingress and egrees with respect to the stall, after the lower door III has been opened. The cage door, as shown, is made up of relatively heavy wires or rods arranged appropriately, and to which wire screen cloth is fixed. The cage door is secured in closed position by a. hasp 14 which is fixed, as by welding, to the adjacent vertical rod of the door. The hasp 14 is in the form of a flat plate which projects laterally and has a horizontal slot 14 to receive a staple 15 for reception of the padlock 16. t

In this instance, the doorframe 17 is of wooden structure, and extending through the frame at one side of the hasp 14 is an aperture I8 of substantial size. Engaging the rear face of the frame 17 covering the inner end of the aperture 18 is a metal plate or disc 19, which has on one face a staple 20. Hooked to the staple 20 is one end of a helical coil spring 25 which is disposed in the aperture 18. The opposite end of the spring 25 is hooked into a loop 22 suitably formed on a handle 23, which is formed ofa metal strap bent upon itself to provide a convenient handhold.

On the outer side of the frame 17 is a circular metal plate or disc 24 which has an integral straplike extension 25 which is overlapped by the hasp 14, the staple 15 being suitably fixed to the strap 25. In the plate 24 is a horizontally elongate slot 26 of a size sufficient to enable the handle 23 to pass therethrough. Normally the handle 23 is crosswise of the slot 26 and in an up and down or vertical position, as indicated in FIG. 2. At this time the coil spring 25 urges the handle tightly against the plate 24, but by turning the handle 23 to a horizontal position so that it aligns with the slot 26, the plate 24 may be swung outwardly to clear the handle 23 so that the plate 24 and associated parts are freed from the doorframe 17. Thus, the cage door 12 can be swung open, so that access to the stall can be gained after releasing the lower door 11, which of course presents no problem.

Fitting over the metal disc 24 is a flanged cylindrical cup 27 the flange of which is suitably riveted to the plate 24. The outer opening of the cup has an inward flange in which is disposed a glass panel 28 retained in place by the handle 23, as shown in FIG. 2. Thus, the free ends of the handle straps exert a spring action against the glass panel for this purpose. It will be manifest that by breaking the glass panel 28 access can be immediately had to the handle 23, which upon being turned to a position to register with the elongate slot 26, the cage door can immediately be swung to open position despite the fact that the padlock remains locked.

In the form of the invention shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, a metal strap 29 or hasp is indicated which is attached fixedly, for example, to the cage door 12 as above described. The hasp 29 is slotted to fit over a staple 30 which is suitably fixed to the flat end portion 31 of a cylindrical rod 32. The rod 32 extends horizontally, and adjacent the end of the rod 32 and in alignment therewith is a rod 33, which is also cylindrical and of the same circumference so that an elongate sleeve 3% can slide freely over both rods 33 and 34, as shown in FIG. 4-.

The rod 33 lies mainly within a housing 35 which is secured to the door frame by fasteners 35a. The outer face of the hous ing is formed by a glass panel 36, which must be broken to gain access to an operating handle 37 disposed wholly within the housing. The handle 37 is connected by a neck 37a to the sleeve 34. Normally the handle 37 lies against the flat bottom of the housing 35 and is prevented from being shifted to the left of the housing (FIG. 4) by a sidewall of the housing. Movement of the handle to the right of the figure is prevented by a block device which consists of a baseplate 38 screwed to the bottom of the housing and having an outwardly extending flange or wall 38b. The only way in which the handle can be used to advantage is by first breaking the glass panel 36. Then by grasping the handle 37 and rocking it to a position at right angles to the housing as indicated on FIG. 5, the handle can be used to shift the sleeve 34 to the right. This movement uncovers the rod 32 and frees it so that it can be swung along with the hasp 29 to rock the door to its open position. As shown, a padlock 39 engages with the staple 30, but from the above description it will be apparent that the padlock does not have to be released in the event of an emergency to enable the door to be swung to its open position.

in the further embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a hasp 40 in the form of a length of strap metal has one end portion coiled upon itself with the free end welded in place to provide a hinge portion. The other end portion of the hasp has an elongate slot 42 for reception of a staple to receive the padlock as above described. The curled hinge end 4] is disposed between a pair of vertically spaced lugs 43 and 44 which are fixed as by welding to an end rod 45 constituting part of the cage door as above described. in the lower lug 44 is a socket 46, and aligned therewith in the upper lug 43 is a hole 47 which extends vertically through it. A pintle rod 48 has its lower end seated in the socket 46 and extends through the hole 47 in the upper lug, a portion of the rod extending above the lug 43 as shown on FIG. 7.

Fitting over the upper end portion of the pintle rod 48 is a glass cup 49 which has a solid bottom and sidewalls. The mouth of the cup 49 is'flanged outwardly as indicated at 50, and fitting over the flanged rim 50 is a retainer ring 51 which is appropriately recessed to fit the flange and hold it in place. The ring 51 is welded or otherwise fixedly secured to the lug 43. t

In order to open the door in the event of an emergency, it is necessary to break the glass cup 49 to afford access to the pintle rod 48 which is then lifted, as indicated on FlG. 8v This then frees the hasp 40 so that the door can be quickly opened in the event of an emergency.

Whatl claim is:

l. in combination with a door movable to and from closed position, and a hasp secured to an edge portion of the door for engagement with a staple adapted to receive a padlock, a strap carrying said staple, a device enabling manipulation of said strap for door opening purposes without loosening the padlock, said device comprising a handle engageable with said staple-carrying strap for restraining same against movement, means responsive to actuation of said handle for freeing said strap enabling same to be shifted along with said hasp to move said door to open position, an enclosure for said handle, and a glass plate for said enclosure so disposed that upon breaking said glass plate access is gained to said handle for operating same.

2. The organization as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plate fixedly secured to said strap and having an aperture dimensioned to enable said handle to pass therethrough when in a predetermined position and then turned, and resilient means for securing said handle to a fixed support, said enclosure disposed over said aperture whereby upon breaking said glass plate said handle is turned so as to pass through said aperture, and thereby free said strap and associated parts for door opening movement.

3. The organization as claimed in claim 2, comprising a chamber in the support, a spring for said handle in said chamber for urging same toward the support, said aperture constituting an elongate slot, said handle being shaped to pass through said slot and formed to bear yieldingly against the inside face of said glass plate.

4. The organization as claimed in claim 3, comprising means for rigidly securing said enclosure to said strap-carrying plate.

5. The organization as claimed in claim 1, comprising a rod rigid with and extending therefrom in alignment therewith, a second rod aligned with said first rod and mounted rigidly within said enclosure, a slide normally connecting both rods, and means connecting said handle to said slide to enable shifting thereof to a position to free said first rod and enabling door opening movement.

6. The organization as claimed in claim 5, in which said handle normally lies flatwise in said enclosure, and means to block movement of said handle to shift said slide while in normal position, whereby upon braking of said glass plate said handle is rocked from its normal position to an upright position enabling same to shift said slide without interference of said blocking means. 

1. In combination with a door movable to and from closed position, and a hasp secured to an edge portion of the door for engagement with a staple adapted to receive a padlock, a strap carrying said staple, a device enabling manipulation of said strap for door opening purposes without loosening the padlock, said device comprising a handle engageable with said staplecarrying strap for restraining same against movement, means responsive to actuation of said handle for freeing said strap enabling same to be shifted along with said hasp to move said door to open position, an enclosure for said handle, and a glass plate for said enclosure so disposed that upon breaking said glass plate access is gained to said handle for operating same.
 2. The organization as claimed in claim 1, comprising a plate fixedly secured to said strap and having an aperture dimensioned to enable said handle to pass therethrough when in a predetermined position and then turned, and resilient means for securing said handle to a fixed support, said enclosure disposed over said aperture whereby upon breaking said glass plate said handle is turned so as to pass through said aperture, and thereby free said strap and associated parts for door opening movement.
 3. The organization as clAimed in claim 2, comprising a chamber in the support, a spring for said handle in said chamber for urging same toward the support, said aperture constituting an elongate slot, said handle being shaped to pass through said slot and formed to bear yieldingly against the inside face of said glass plate.
 4. The organization as claimed in claim 3, comprising means for rigidly securing said enclosure to said strap-carrying plate.
 5. The organization as claimed in claim 1, comprising a rod rigid with and extending therefrom in alignment therewith, a second rod aligned with said first rod and mounted rigidly within said enclosure, a slide normally connecting both rods, and means connecting said handle to said slide to enable shifting thereof to a position to free said first rod and enabling door opening movement.
 6. The organization as claimed in claim 5, in which said handle normally lies flatwise in said enclosure, and means to block movement of said handle to shift said slide while in normal position, whereby upon braking of said glass plate said handle is rocked from its normal position to an upright position enabling same to shift said slide without interference of said blocking means. 